Say Yay: app basics
Can I cast my vote with this app?
NO! You must either go to the polls or vote by mail. Say Yay is a tool to help you make selections on your official ballot before you go to the polls. It is NOT your official ballot.
How does the app work?
- Say Yay uses your home address to gather all candidates and measures that will be on your ballot (magic!)
- It allows you to weigh in on the important issues and organizations you care about; which is then used to assign a score to candidates. The higher the number, the more the candidate is aligned with YOU.
- Select & save the candidates and ballot measures you plan to vote for, and quickly access that list when you’re voting at the polls (bye, paper voting guides!)
- We’ve also included links to various sources to help you in your research about candidates, ballot measures, stances and topics; making it a one-stop-shop for all your voting needs.
Where does all the data come from?
Say Yay has multiple sources:
- Ballotpedia provides government and election data including candidate bios and political party information.
- Opensecrets.org provides campaign finance data.
- Organizations and candidates can publish their stances or endorsements using our paid services.
- Say Yay curates the Topics, Issues & Stances, but these are based on cited sources from organizations like Pew Research and the organizations that support a particular stance. Say Yay is nonpartisan.
How is data in the app used to help my community?
We believe there’s strength in numbers, and want to make sure the voices of your entire community are heard. We plan to let local government and advocacy organizations know what’s important to their constituents based on the choices you make in our app, in real time. Think of it as lobbying as a community; but from your couch.
We will only use aggregated & anonymized voter selections (ie: nothing that can be traced back to you) because your personally identifiable info is *always* kept separate from your selections (all the recent data breaches freaked us out too).
Say Yay: App Usage
What if I don't enter my stance on an issue?
No problem! We don't expect every voter to have a stance on all issues. Respond to the ones you feel confident about. The more you fill in, the more our scoring method can help you select which candidate is right for you.
Why should I set the stance for a candidate?
It impacts the candidate's score and will make it easier for you to see which candidate is more aligned to you. You set what you believe their stance is on issues most important to you based on information you have gathered about the candidate. This setting is for your score of that candidate and does not impact what the candidate's score is for other voters.
Why are there no stances set for candidates?
Because Say Yay is new there are NO official candidate stances. In the future, we will give candidates the option to publish their stances; but we need lots of Say Yay users for them to do that. Tell your friends to download Say Yay!
Why do I see so many Judge & City Council positions?
The district map detail data for city council and judicial boundaries are not always available. Therefore, we provide you with the lowest level information we have which is usually "city". Your official voter guide and ballot from your registrar of voters will contain the specific offices you can vote on. Say Yay is only a guide and is not your official ballot.
What is "rank choice" voting & how does Say Yay support it?
Rank choice voting is used in some local elections. It allows a voter to select as many as 3 candidates and to rank them as their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice. A winner is determined based on weighting how many 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice votes a candidate receives.
Say Yay allows you to "prefer" multiple candidates for the same position and will save them to "My Choices". When you cast your vote, you decide which candidate you will vote; and in what order.